The Royal Rose
by Tales of Fox
Summary: The time comes soon when Marinette Dupain-Cheng, the crown princess of France will soon have to choose a suitor. However, fate has other plans in store for the young girl in red. (AU durin medieval times where Marinette's family rules Paris)
1. Routine of the princess

Chapter 1

Sunlight shined over the kingdom of Paris, reaching every corner of the vast city. The people were basking in the beautiful morning sunshine. The animals rose up from their slumber ready to greet the day. And all was busy in the great city which also happened to be the main hub of activity. At Least all was busy apart from one thing.

"Princess?" Marinette heard someone call with a knock on the door following.

The young princess groaned as she opened her eyes slowly to greet the morning light. Like many others, she did enjoy the way the city looked at the start of the day. However, this past month had left her oddly tired, and hoping to return to sleep. And there were people that stood ready to stop this hope of hers. People like the maids, and her friend Alya entering the room saying, "Sleeping in bed all day won't do you any good."

"But would it really be so bad to have five more minutes?" Marinette complained.

"Considering the fact that your father will request your presence soon, probably," Alya answered.

Alya Cesaire was the daughter of a well known lord from a neighboring city under the rule of the Dupain-Cheng family. Back when she was a little girl, she was brought to Paris to study to become an advisor which is how she met the shy princess. The two immediately bonded over their desire to help the people and became as close as sisters. Of course with the fact that their fathers had been life long friends, and her being under the tutelage of the king himself, this fact would sound more accurate than one might initially believe. Which is why the maids didn't think twice to Alya objecting to the princess's requests the way that she did.

"What exactly did he request my presence for?" Marinette asked as she readied herself for the day with the help of some of the maids.

"You'll have to ask him that yourself," Alya answered honestly, "I'm afraid I don't know."

"So you have no guess as to what he might want?" Marinette asked once more.

"If I did, I'd tell you Mari," Alya replied.

Finally Marinette had completed getting around, and Alya took a brief moment to admire the outfit she chose. Though she was a princess, Marinette often preferred to make her own dresses out of whatever material she could get her hands on. This was a lot easier since she was royalty so she was able to obtain very fine fabrics. That being said, she still would wear the finest clothing made by other designers in Paris to avoid having their work feel unappreciated. However, it was a general consensus by the people that the dresses she made herself certainly surpassed the works of the other designers.

Her favorite self made dress, which was the one she chose to wore, was a long red dress that almost touched the ground. The dress was threaded with black and white almost to mimic the pattern of a rose. It paired well with the red heeled shoes that reached past her knees. She also had on a pair of red gloves to go with the rest of the look. When Alya saw this, she smiled and said, "We should probably be on our way princess."

The two made their way to King Thomas But were briefly interrupted by a small voice, "Marinette, where are you going?"

The two noble women looked towards the source and noticed that it came from Manon. Manon was the ward princess of Paris, and what some would say is the younger sister of Marinette. Her parents were both close friends to Queen Sabine, though they were taken by sickness. This led to the young girl being adopted by the sovereigns and she had lived like a princess ever since. While some feared that this would displease the princess, Marinette was actually delighted that she got to have a little sister.

"We're off to see father," Marinette replied, "What about you Manon?"

"Mother says that I need to study," Manon answered with slight displeasure, "But the problem is the tutor is so boring."

Alya gave a little chuckle at the comment, "I remember thinking that way as well little one."

"However, a good education is important," Marinette reminded the little girl, "Tell you What, if you promise to keep up your studying, I promise to spend more time with you."

Manon wanted to complain but, knowing that she was fighting an uphill battle, had instead replied, "Okay. But what does father want?"

"I'll soon find out," Marinette replied with a smile, "Run along little one."

Manon began running back towards the library where the tutor was located. Meanwhile, the two women made their way to the throne room entrance. However, there was yet one more thing blocking their path. The doors were shut, and there were two men around the same age as Marinette and Alya standing in front of the doors. Considering who the two men were Marinette almost groaned once more.

The one on the left was the bard Nino Lahiffe. His parents managed to get in the good graces of the royal family and serves them as entertainers. He actually bonded really well with the Princess by both showing appreciation for each other's talents, Marinette's tailoring And Nino's music. He was also rather helpful when Marinette was having difficulty understanding what her tutor was explaining. If it was just him there, she'd be smiling. But instead he was accompanied by Adrien Agreste.

Adrien was a knight who was the son of Gabriel, and Emilie Agreste. She didn't have high opinions of Gabriel but she certainly enjoyed Emilie until she disappeared mysteriously. Their son however was a more complicated story. Throughout the time she's known him, Adrien had shown himself to be kind and courteous to everyone in the kingdom. Of course, not everyone in the kingdom knew the full package that was Adrien Agreste.

While she did count him as one of her closest friends, she also had to put up with his annoying side. When he wasn't in the public eye, he would often try to flirt with the princess whenever he could. What was worse was that he would often seem to carelessly leap in the path of danger. This led to Marinette trying to be in the mostly public and safe places whenever he'd be near. And to make matters worse, there was another issue that she had with the boy.

What most didn't know was that while the flirting was annoying, deep down Marinette actually liked it. She also admired his chivalry and selflessness even if it can go over the top from time to time. Of course she would naturally deny that she had any feelings toward the blond swordsman. Those who have heard this claim never truly believed her but decided to let her continue denying her feelings. Even when she began blushing as he walked up to her, knelt down and gracefully kissed her hand, saying, "Good morning my princess."

Thankfully this charming side to the knight would have another affect that Nino, and Alya got to witness today, "G-Good morning Adrien."

"Feeling feverish Princess?" Adrien asked with a rather smug tone, pointing out the blush.

Marinette got a hold of herself, and angrily replied, "Perhaps it'd be better if you focus on defending the kingdom from threats."

"But I was told that my sworn duty is to protect you," Adrien responded, "And it truly is an honor to defend Paris's prettiest flower."

Marinette simply shook off this remark, and said, "I have important matters to discuss with my father. I'm sure you have other matters to attend to yourself."

Adrien smiled and moved out of Marinette's way, "Of course princess. I was just happy to have spoken to you. Now my day appears ever brighter."

Marinette walked through the doorway, and closed it behind her, leaving Alya with the boys. She did feel bad leaving her to deal with the two troublemakers of Paris. However, she could always rely on Alya to be able to reign them in. Not to mention, Alya always made sure to be there when Adrien was being extra flirtatious, or extra annoying. But that was a matter that she didn't need to concern herself with at the moment.

"Marinette?" The princess heard her father call from around the corner.

She entered the room further to find her father wandering around in the middle of the room. Marinette often found it a little amusing with how he seemed to be able to fit perfectly in a room that looked a bit too big for someone average sized. She assumed it was to help make her father, who was already rather large in size and muscle as it was, seem even more intimidating. But the truth was that people only saw his scary side if they crossed him the wrong way. Otherwise, he was just a gentle giant to his family, and his subjects, though especially so to his daughters.

"You summoned me father?" Marinette asked politely.

"Yes my dear," Thomas answered as he turned to face his child, "I wanted to let you know that we will be having multiple guests from our lands, and our allied countries come to greet us in a week."

"A week?" Marinette asked, feeling confused, "Why let me know now?"

Thomas looked his daughter in the eyes and said, "Because it's for you."

It didn't take long for Marinette to catch what her father meant. Next week Marinette would turn 16 and her life as an adult would begin. And unfortunately, it was a time that the princess had actually been dreading for a long time. She wasn't so much afraid of her childhood ending since she was always the mature one in her group of friends. Her problem was actually with what would come next when a princess turns 16.

It was no secret to her that men would want to come from all over hoping to earn her favor much like how her mother came from China to meet her father. She was also aware of how many men both inside and outside of France were attracted to her. Though she knew that half of those men would probably simply want to marry her so that they could become king. And for all she knew, the rest would just want to marry her because she was beautiful.

"Are we sure that they wouldn't be here for another purpose?" Marinette asked, hoping that he would agree.

Her hopes were dashed when he answered, "Marinette, I know it'll be scary when you become a grown woman. But unfortunately, this is one of the things to expect when you become an adult."

Marinette looked sadly down at the floor before her father placed a hand on her shoulder, and said, "Believe me, if I had it my way, you would be free to remain my little girl for as long as you want."

The princess giggled at this remark, and hugged her father tightly. She felt him hug back almost in a way like he expected not to see her again. She knew that it'd be hard for him to watch his child grow up without him. When the two released each other, he sent her on her way, warning her to be careful when the guests arrived. However, just as she was leaving, she could've sworn that she saw a tear in her father's eyes.


	2. Gifts for nobles

Chapter 2

"I can't believe this is actually happening," Marinette's muffled voice spoke as she sat with her head in her arms.

After she left her father to continue with what she normally does, she ran past her friends who were still chatting in the entryway. Fortunately for them, they knew where she'd be going to. Marinette usually has a spot on the rooftop of the palace. She started off sitting there by herself until Nino day down along with her. That was when she explained the whole situation to the bard who was now providing support as he usually would.

"Well it could be worse," Nino pointed out, "If you weren't a princess, you'd be stuck marrying a random commoner."

Marinette glared at the boy, "That's not helping. It makes me sound pretentious."

"Sorry Mari, I wish I could help you better here," Nino replied, "Though good news is you have an opportunity to marry Adrien."

"What!?" Marinette almost cried out in shock, "You really think I'd marry him?"

Nino simply smirked, "Based on how much you blush and stutter around him, yes."

Marinette's only response was to blush and swat his arm angrily. She knew that Nino was teasing her but deep down she did have a little secret. Despite her protests, she actually did hope that Adrien would make the request. She really did appreciate his chivalry, and found him to be quite sweet when it comes to the people of Paris. And yes the fact that he looked absolutely handsome certainly didn't hurt when it came to how she felt about him.

It was just the other side of Adrien which only she got to experience that was the problem. There were times where she actually humored him and played back but that ultimately backfired. Not to mention he was willing to do anything to get her attention such as cause a little harmless mischief with Nino from time to time. This included a little prank that they pulled on the princess which was due to a dare by Nino, and he endlessly apologized for it.

However, before their conversation could continue, she heard a familiar voice from the balcony, "Princess what on earth are you doing up there? Get down before your father has a panic attack!"

Gazing in the direction of the voice, she saw that the chastising tone came from Nathalie Sancoeur. Nathalie was assigned by Gabriel as Adrien's caretaker of while he was in Paris. However she also tends to act as the caretaker for Marinette as well with the king's approval. Thus the woman tends to use this as an opportunity to remind the bluenette on how a princess should behave. Nevertheless, the strict lady had also proven to be considerate which is why Marinette doesn't often rebel against her.

When Marinette got down to the balcony, she asked, "Did Adrien tell you where I was?"

"No, I overheard conversation from outside, and found you with Mr. Lahiffe," Nathalie answered honestly, "Actually your father was looking for you."

After Nino followed Marinette down, the princess asked another question, "What for?"

"He didn't tell me though I imagine that it would be for dinner at this time," Nathalie replied, "Also I did receive word that Lord Agreste will be making an attendance."

This time Nino decided to speak, "You mean the noble knight, or the worst father ever?"

"It's Lord Gabriel, but you should be mindful of how you speak of a man of his influence," Nathalie warned the young man.

It was no secret that perhaps the most powerful lord of France was also the most disliked noble of France. To the world, he seems cold, shrewd, and distant from everyone as well as his own son. Even Adrien has confessed how he'd rather remain at the palace endlessly than stay with his father. Nathalie was the only one to defend him by saying that he's in mourning for his wife. And while Marinette certainly isn't a fan of the man, she was willing to give him a chance.

"Why would Lord Gabriel come all the way to Paris?" Marinette asked as she began walking towards where her father would be.

The two followed as Nathalie provided another answer, "He never told me. All he said was that he was arriving soon."

"That doesn't sound great," Marinette replied.

It wasn't much of a secret on how Gabriel handles people around him. Almost every interaction with him is a matter of business. And when it wasn't business, he would either walk away from the person out of disinterest, or he would state his opinions of what has gone wrong in the interaction. But say what one will about the man, he's good at what he does, and let's people know what he wants. Of course, he's also not afraid to step on toes to do so.

The three made it to where they needed to and separated with Marinette being with her father, and her companions going their separate ways.

Meanwhile,

"Marriage? Really?" Adrien asked in complete surprise. Unbeknownst to the princess, while she was venting her thoughts to Nino, Alya was listening to the conversation from the balcony before Nathalie showed up. And when she was shooed away by the lady, she immediately told Adrien. Normally she would keep it a secret because she was close friends with the princess but with a matter like this, she couldn't help but tell the one person she was hoping would marry the princess. And boy was his reaction absolutely worth the reveal.

Though it quickly stopped being worth it when Alya has to repeat herself, "For the tenth time, yes."

"But so soon?" Adrien asked this time in disbelief, "She's not even of age yet."

"You do realize she becomes of age soon right?" Alya reminds him, "Not to mention there are many nobles who have wedded their daughters off before their time."

"That's not the same thing," Adrien retorted, "They aren't my Princess."

Alya let out a groan of frustration, "Think about it this way. The marriage is open to all nobles. Knights, lords, and royalty all have a chance to marry the princess. This includes you."

Adrien's mood slowly began to shift into hopefulness, "Really?"

"Yes you dunce," Alya replied, "It's probably why your father is coming over."

That was when Adrien froze in place, "Father is coming here?"

"That's what I heard," Alya answered honestly, "Sorry friend."

"Well I guess I can kiss my freedom goodbye," Adrien complained.

"I'm sure it'll all work out," Alya said reassuringly.

However, rather than respond, Adrien simply began walking to his room. Alya decided to let him go and give him some time to himself. She wanted to make him feel better more, but in all honesty, she wasn't sure what more she could do. At least not beyond what she had already done to help so far. All she could do was watch as he walked away before returning to her room to rest.

Meanwhile,

Marinette had finally made it to her room to rest. Though she didn't have a lot of opportunity for it after what had already occurred. First she was reminded that she would be turning 16 years old in a week and told that her childhood would be ending soon. Then she was forewarned that nobles would be visiting to offer their hand in marriage. "What else is new?" Marinette said as she plopped onto her bed.

As she dropped on her bed, she heard something fall on the ground. Looking around for the source, she found a small red box wrapped in a ribbon. Inside the bow of the ribbon was a note rolled up in the knot. She pulled out the little note and saw that it said 'Happy birthday princess.' Rather than open the box, she decided to confront who she thought it was from.

After arriving at the door, Marinette knocked on it, and waited for someone to answer. When the door opened, she saw Adrien in casual clothing, saying with a smile, "Princess. I didn't think I'd see you stop by. Please come in."

The knight moved out of the way allowing the princess to enter. Once she was inside, she asked, "Did this come from you Adrien?"

When Adrien looked at the box in the lady's hand, his smile slowly faded. He then walked over to his end table, and grabbed an object from the drawer. Walking back over to Marinette, he showed her what he grabbed, and she became surprised. It was a small box much like hers but with a black ribbon wrapped around it. "I thought this was from you," he said still holding the box.

"So What's in yours?" Marinette asked as she sat down in a nearby chair.

"I don't know," Adrien answered as he sat in a chair across from her, "I just found it a minute before you arrived."

Marinette briefly glanced down at her own box, and said, "If this is a joke from you, I promise-"

"Princess, If it was from me, you'd know because a note would say so," Adrien interrupted, "Where did you find yours anyway?"

"It was on my bed," Marinette answered, "I thought it was a ring for marriage."

Adrien paled at the response, "Shall we open them to find out?"

"Fine," Marinette said as she pulled off the ribbon.

Slowly the princess opened the box while Adrien did the same with his, and the two peeked inside to see what it carried. It turned out to be two garnet earrings in Marinette's box, and a platinum ring with an onyx on top in Adrien's box. They both glanced at each other's box, and Marinette began to giggle a little while Adrien frowned slightly. "While I do enjoy hearing the pleasant sound of your laughter, might I ask why I'm hearing it now?" he asked.

"Because it's the exact type of thing I thought was in my little box," Marinette replied.

Before either one continued, they noticed two bright flashes from the boxes. Red from Marinette's and black from Adrien's. The flashes were bright enough that the two had to look away. When their gazes returned to the jewelry, they noticed two small creatures floating before them. One of them appeared to be red with black spots, and the other looked like a black cat. Both looked at the humans in front of them as the red one spoke first, "Are you our new chosens?"

Neither teen spoke to answer the question. Mostly because they were still trying to process the fact that two tiny creatures appeared from their boxes. The fact that they were able to speak was secondary at this point. In a moment of instinct, Adrien moved Marinette behind him and grabbed his sword from the chair, saying, "Who, and what are you?"

The cat creature simply gave a light chuckle, and said, "We're beings that can't really be killed so easily with a simple sword like this."

The red creature gave her companion a shove, and said, "I do apologize for this. We aren't here to cause you any harm. My name is Tikki, and this is Plagg. We're known as kwamis. And you two were just granted the responsibility of bearing our miraculouses."


	3. New Treasures, and Old Issues

**Chapter** **3 **

"So to clarify, you two are just two of many powerful creatures that reside in jewelry? Each with a unique ability such as creation for Tikki, and destruction for Plagg? Both of you were given to us by what's known as the guardian of the miraculouses because of some dark omen set to come upon Paris?" Marinette paused as she waited for the Kwamis to answer.

After the reveal last night, both Kwamis had gone through every minute detail of their existence in the lives of the two noble youths. Apparently they were connected to a prophecy from China that two heroes representing creation and destruction would bring peace upon the lands. They also covered some of the abilities that cane with being chosen. Not that they had much opportunity to test out the powers as it was very late in the night. So Marinette decided to hold off on the discussion until morning, which is the reason why Adrien was in her bedroom alone with the creatures.

"Yeah that's pretty much the whole story," Plagg answered as he sat down on the end on the end table beside Marinette's bed.

"But why us?" Adrien asked, "Not that I'm questioning your selection of someone like the beautiful princess of Paris."

Marinette froze for a second before turning to face him and saying while fighting off the growing blush on her face, "Can we please have one discussion without you flirting with me?"

Unfortunately the princess began blushing from embarrassment this time. When she made her last outburst, it didn't come out the way she intended. She ended up stuttering, and her voice was squeaking slightly. And it was a thing that Adrien was quick to notice. "Why princess," Adrien began flirtatiously teasing, "If I didn't know any better, I'd say you're actually enjoying my attention towards you."

That was when Marinette heavily swatted his arm, "Will you knock it off?"

Adrien laughed, "I'm sorry fair princess. Please forgive this humble Knight."

"Are you two a couple?" Plagg asked, changing the topic.

Both humans shifted their attention on the kwamis currently admiring the display. This time the recognition of this fact caused them both to blush. Though on Adrien's part, it was mostly from being caught so off guard. It wasn't public knowledge that he would tend to flirt with the princess, and only a handful of people knew that he had genuine feelings for her that went beyond the flirtatious remarks. Truthfully, he had been holding back for her sake so he was surprised that someone called him out on it in such a way.

"No we aren't a couple," Marinette answered for the both of them.

"Much to our disappointment," Adrien quipped once more, "Though hopefully that problem will resolve itself soon."

Marinette glared at the knight angrily, "I'm not sure what punishment would suit you best when I'm queen."

"Yeah they'll be the perfect couple soon," Tikki said, interrupting any chance of further back and forth between the two.

And before they had a chance to reply to that comment, they heard a knock on the door followed by Alya's voice coming from the other side, saying, "Princess, are you awake?"

Both noble teens froze in place, and it took a few seconds for the kwamis to understand why. Since they decided to talk first thing in the morning, they were the first to be awake in the whole palace, apart from the occasional guard patrolling the halls. And people were forbidden from disturbing the royal family, , which pretty much only meant that no boy was allowed to enter the bedroom of either Marinette, or Manon unless done so by guard. Since this didn't happen, Adrien was actually violating the law just for being there. And while he was treated like family by the king, he didn't want to find out how they would punish him for this.

So he made sure to hide before Marinette answered, "Yeah, I'm getting dressed."

Adrien paused and glanced at her. His look was clearly saying that he had no idea why she decided to say that as the excuse. However his thought was interrupted when Marinette shooed him back into hiding. When he found a good spot to hide, Marinette opened the door and allowed Alya to walk in. Once she did so, she said, "That was quick. I thought you'd still be putting something on."

"I was almost done when you came to my door," Marinette lied hoping that Alya would believe her.

Unfortunately, she didn't, "So your delay to let me in wasn't because someone else was in your room?"

"Don't be ridiculous," Marinette life once more, "Father forbade anyone from entering my room unless escorted by a guard."

"Then why is Sir Adrien of House Agreste currently hiding in your closet?" Alya pointed out before picking up a sword that was on the ground, "And left his sword behind when he hid?"

Marinette tried once more to defend herself, "Maybe it's mine from my combat training. What would you say to that?"

"So you wouldn't mind if I thrust the blade through that door there?" Alya asked as she pointed the weapon towards the door that Adrien was hiding behind.

Marinette froze for a second before hesitantly saying, "I don't think father will appreciate you destroying things in the castle."

"Good point," Alya said with false pondering, "But I'm sure I'll be forgiven."

Just as she was about to thrust the sword through the door, Adrien popped out of the closet to stop her, "Easy Alya. No need to skewer me."

"Why are you in the princess's chambers?" Alya began asking.

Both of them looked at each other as they tried to come up with a good story. Adrien clearly had one idea brewing in his head as he looked towards Marinette. The princess knew that he had some idea but she didn't know what he was thinking. And that fact alone made her nervous about what he could be thinking being that blond hair. _Focus_ she thought as she tried to find her answer before Adrien could answer for them both. Unfortunately she was too late, "I wanted to offer to marry the princess."

The two noble women were absolutely shocked but for two different reasons. Alya was shocked by the fact that he would propose since she didn't think that he'd do it. Marinette was shocked because she thought he was trying to flirt with her even more. Then Alya looked at the princess who remained silent so as to neither confirm nor deny the story. However, instead of pursue this story even further, she said, "Well, while I'm sure that we'll discuss this matter later, your mother wants to speak with you about something."

"Did she say what?" Marinette asked, happy to swap topics.

"Never got a chance to ask," Alya answered, "But she did want you to meet with her as soon as possible."

"I'll make my way over to her then," Marinette said as she gathered her things, "Where is she now?"

Alya pointed towards the door as she answered again, "In the throne room with your father."

"Thanks Alya," Marinette said as she left her room and her friends to see her parents.

As she left, Alya quickly turned to Adrien and asked, "So what was the real reason that brought you here?"

Meanwhile as Marinette was making her way to meet her parents, Manon quickly ran up to her and said, "Marinette, look what I got."

The little child immediately showed the princess what was on her wrist. It appeared to be a bracelet with a rather noticeable magenta colored gemstone on it. The bluenette was shocked since she didn't recognize the design of the bracelet. And while it seemed rather unlikely, Marinette had immediately assumed that her new piece of jewelry came with a kwami as well. Instead of showing worry though, she smiled, and said, "It looks lovely Manon."

"Thanks," Manon said as she walked with the princess, "So what did mother and father want?"

"Not sure," Marinette replied as she noticed that the doors to the throne room were right in front of them, "But we'll soon find out."

The girls walked up to the doors and waited for the guards to open them. Once they did, the two walked in the throne room before the doors were closed again. Then they immediately spotted the king and queen talking with a third person whose back was currently to them. However the person turned around once the doors closed to reveal his face. The guest showed himself to be none other than Lord Gabriel Agreste himself.

Marinette and Manon both gave a polite greeting while trying to hold back their negative comments. Every time the princess saw Lord Gabriel, she wanted to scold him on being a better father to his own son. Manon just found the man scary and certainly felt angry for how he behaves like he's superior to others, at least that's how he comes off in her eyes. It was a tough trial for both girls to learn when they first met the lord since he was a powerful man even though he answered to the crown just like the rest of the people of Paris. Thankfully Gabriel seemed to be in a better mood when he greeted both princesses, "Princess Marinette, Lady Manon, a pleasure to see you both again."

"Likewise sir," Marinette replied for both of them, "Are we interrupting?"

"Actually we finished our discussion for the most part," Sabine answered for the three of them, "Thank you for stopping by Lord Gabriel."

"Of course my queen," Gabriel said as he gave a slight nod before leaving the room, "And I do hope you consider my offer."

Once he left the room, Manon looked to the queen, and asked, "Mother why do we allow him here? He's scary."

"I'm more than aware of everyone's opinion of him," Sabine replied, "But he is a guest so we must be respectful towards him and his entourage."

"Who did he come with?" Marinette asked her mother.

The only response she received was her mother saying, "Just a few of the guards, and Felix."

Felix Agreste was the nephew of Gabriel Agreste though there are rumors that he's actually the bastard son of the shrewd lord. This was because he resembled the lord in appearance and, in the eyes of some, in attitude as well. In fact, Gabriel almost looked like a saint compared to the young boy who was plagued with a reputation of being cruel and callous towards his people. There was even a story that he was part of the reason that one noble family no longer holds power. Needless to say, he wasn't liked by any of the citizens of France, and he was especially disliked by the princesses.

"Why would Felix appear here?" Marinette asked, "Last I recalled, he was never to enter the kingdom."

"You know as well as I that he is as welcomed here as his caretaker," Sabine answered, "Though I'm unclear as to what his purpose would be here."

It was true that Felix wasn't exiled, though it was inaccurate to say that he was welcomed within the kingdom. On his last visit a couple of years prior, Felix had made an inappropriate advance on the princess and her friend Alya. No one else was around to defend them but the boy was stopped by Adrien, who before the moment wasn't considered much of a friend by Marinette's standards. Adrien had flirted with her for a while since he arrived but he never took things as far as Felix did. It was because of that moment that the princess actually began to develop feelings for her knight, again not that she'll ever admit the fact.

"Can we really allow him around the palace?" Manon asked, feeling concerned for the safety of her family.

"He's to only wander the palace with an escort," the queen reassured the girls, "None of the guards will allow him to come near either of you."

"Does That also mean that Sir Adrien will be keeping watch for Marinette?" Manon asked in a joking manner.

The older child looked ready to chastise her little sister but was interrupted by their mother's reply, "Actually he's been instructed to keep watch over the two of you while Felix is around."

Marinette wanted to object to the statement made, but decided against doing so. While the princess saw the potentially endless flirting from her knight to be an annoyance, it would be much better to have him around when Felix is nearby. Especially when the only person Felix fears besides his uncle was his cousin. Not to mention, arguing with her mother would only make things worse since the queen was very stubborn when she's made up her mind on something. One thing that both girls managed to inherit from their mother.

"You two can go about the rest of your day now," Sabine said as she left with a pair of the guards.

Both Marinette, and Manon left the throne room through the main entrance after their mother left. Of course, as they left, they noticed that standing with their ears to the door were Lady Alya, and Sir Adrien. Both smiling perhaps a little more happily than they should be. An obvious sign that they heard some very important things from the other side of the door. Adrien was the first to break the silence, saying with a flirtatious smirk, "So I guess I'm to stay close to the prize of Paris. I must be the luckiest knight ever."

Marinette groaned at the remark, and said, "Just make sure Felix doesn't try anything."

"Anything to protect my beautiful princess," Adrien said as he took the princess's hand, and in perhaps his most charming manner ever.

And with that last remark, the midnight haired, bluebell eyed princess became as red as a tomato as she stuttered out, "Th-Thank you s-sir knight."

The two eventually walked away, leaving Manon and Alya alone together. Though after they went halfway across the hall, the royal teen gave her protective knight a solid punch to his arm. This was followed by yet another scolding from the princess regarding his flirtatious tendencies. Once they were out of sight, Manon looked to Alya, and said, "Why doesn't she just admit that she likes him?"

Alya smirked, "Your guess is as good as mine little princess."


	4. Birthday Banquet

Chapter 4

Life changing experiences, like a coming of age for example, should be exciting. After all, it's opening oneself to the world of adulthood. New opportunities arise, and new doors are open to one finally becoming a grown-up. It's also something to be expected since everyone has to grow older at some point. Reaching the coming of age can be a happy thing, so why is Marinette anything but?

Of course she knew why. Since she was a princess entering adulthood, nobles from around France, and some of its bordering cities from foreign lands, will be attending to offer their son up for marriage. Lord Agreste will more than likely be doing the same with either Adrien or Felix, though she was hoping for Adrien more than Felix. Alya, while always a great friend, is likely to tease her about boys seeking the royal blessing. Adrien would be constantly protecting her from the prying arms of the numerous potential suitors yet also continue to shamelessly flirt with her in the process. And now she has a And now she has a kwami friend named Tikki who she has to keep secret.

Why can't life be so simple for the princess of Paris?

"Marinette, mother says you need to hurry up," the bluenette heard Manon say from the other side of her bedroom door.

"Just a minute," Marinette replied as she finished getting around.

Once her attire was complete, she took a second to admire her look in the mirror. The dress was one of her own design, adorned with red and black yet still maintaining the regal look. Her makeup was done in a way that accented her eyes best without clashing with her red lipstick. Her hair was pulled back in an elegant French braid with a rose pin holding it in place. She could tell that the look would do wonders for her, but she wished that it was all done for a different circumstance.

Thankfully she had her new friend Tikki supporting her, though the small creature elected to remain hidden within the earrings. That part wasn't very surprising since appearing from the jewelry was how they met. What did surprise the young princess was that the little kwami was able to communicate through her via thoughts. Which was why she almost yelped out when she heard Tikki say in her head, "Don't worry. You'll knock them dead."

_How is this possible?_ Marinette thought, _Am I going crazy or something? _

"Sorry," Tikki replied, "I forgot to mention that since you were chosen to bear my miraculous, we are able to speak telepathically."

Before the two could delve deeper into this new topic, Marinette heard Alya from the other side of the door call out, "I'm coming in whether you're ready to go or not."

And with that statement, Alya barged into the princess's chambers. It was something that the redhead had done before in the past, such as how the girls first met. Alya swore that she heard someone in distress at the time even though Marinette was perfectly fine. The only issue was reinforcing the door for when it would happen again. It was shocking how much damage that girl could do to a door.

Nevertheless, Alya managed to still make an impacting entrance without damaging the door this time. However, her entrance was prepared to be followed by scolding for being late, until she noticed Marinette's current attire. Soon her face went from being frustrated to being adorned with an impresses grin as she said, "Damn princess. The guests will absolutely love this."

"You don't think it's too much?" Marinette asked as she glanced at herself in the mirror once again.

"Are you kidding?" Alya replied, "I feel like marrying you myself."

Both girls laughed at the remark until they heard one of the guards clear their throat. Which had reminded them that they needed to make their way to the throne room as soon as possible. After Marinette thanked her friend for not destroying the door this time, she joined her little sister on their way to the throne room. Once they had arrived, Marinette was immediately met with concern.

The throne room, while very large, was packed with visitors from across the lands. There were even nobles from outside of France itself. Thankfully she was able to spot a few familiar faces from the crowd, though Adrien was nowhere in her sights. Unfortunately the same couldn't be said about his father, and his cousin Felix. One face that she never expected to see was that of her childhood friend Nathanael Kurtzburg.

Nathanael's family moved to Paris from Vienna when the boy was around three. He, like his parents, was an artist who made a living painting portraits and scenery for decorations, a few of which currently hung on the walls of the palace. The two met when his father had painted a picture of Marinette on her fourth birthday, and became close friends. They did have an awkward moment when the young artist had confessed his infatuation with the princess which was only one-sided to the boy's dismay. But their friendship ran into issues when he moved to Germany after he met Adrien since it was evident to him that the knight and princess had liked each other.

Marinette wanted to go down to speak to Nathanael but was stopped by Nathalie who gathered the attention of the guests, and said, "Ladies and gentlemen. We present to you Princess Marinette Dupain-Cheng."

Suddenly all eyes were on the princess who nervously approached her parents. Her heart was beating so loudly that she couldn't hear her father's speech to the guests. Her eyes were scanning the room at the people who almost all looked around the age of her parents. However, there were younger folk who looked to be around her age, mostly men and all holding flowers which she knew would be for her as a sign to ask for her hand in marriage. Finally her eyes stopped wandering when she spotted one person she had secretly been hoping would show: Adrien Agreste.

Rather than wearing his usually knightly attire, he was dressed in fancy black clothing. The outfit was obviously designed by his father but it still did wonders for his appearance. The green accents on the coat made his eyes seemed to bring out his eyes, which had been locked with hers. She could see in his face that he thought she looked absolutely beautiful. And at the same time, she was hoping that her makeup would hide her rising blush at the thought.

Eventually the speech ended and the celebration began, starting with the dancing. It wasn't long before the young men were readying to approach Marinette, occasionally shoving each other out of the way in the process. However all attempts had stopped when Adrien stood before her and asked in the most charming way she's ever heard, "May I trouble the princess with a dance?"

With his hand politely extended to her, she eventually stood up and gently grabbed it, answering, "Very well."

The two walked towards the center of the room and began dancing with the crowd. They both chuckled softly once they noticed Alya dragging Nino along to dance with her. While they danced, Marinette said to him, "Thank you for that. I thought things were going to get ugly for a second."

"Not while I'm around princess," Adrien said with a warm smile, "But if you want, I can try to hold still so Nathanael can make us both look good in his painting."

The pair both knew that Nathanael didn't like Adrien despite the fact that the knight didn't really give the red headed painter any reason not to. The dislike was mostly out of jealousy since they both really cared for Marinette, but that was the only thing about Nathanael that truly bothered Adrien. Not because he saw the artist as competition, which he did have a small issue with, but rather that he saw Nathanael as more of an equal. Adrien never wanted to lord his status over anyone and always made sure to treat the people, commoners and nobles alike, as if they were all superior to him. It was one of the many things that Marinette liked about him, even though she comments sometimes that his head is as big as his waist.

"I missed seeing him," Marinette replied as they danced on, "He was one of my closest friends."

"You can talk to him if you wish," Adrien suggested, "It wouldn't bother me if-"

Suddenly, one of the dancers had accidentally bumped into Marinette and caused her to nudge lightly into Adrien. It was nowhere near enough to knock them over, but it was enough that her head ended up leaning against his chest. Before pulling away, she could hear his heart pounding quickly, along with hers going at the same rate. As she slowly pulled her head away from his chest, the two ended up staring into each other's eyes, neither saying a word.

Soon the moment was interrupted by someone approaching behind her and saying, "Getting very hands on with your servant, are we princess?"

Marinette turned around to see that Felix was standing behind her. Felix appeared to be the side of Adrien if the knight looked more like his father. Though Felix was shorter and lankier in build than his cousin, he still had some physical qualities that some would find attractive. At least until people like Marinette end up meeting him, and learn that his personality is perhaps the ugliest in all of France. It still didn't stop him from following up on his comment, "When would I get my chance?"

"When Hell freezes over," Adrien answered as he put himself between his princess and his cousin, "Back away Felix."

Felix simply attempted to brush Adrien off and replied, "Now now cousin. There's no need to be selfish. Besides, if things go the way that they should, provided uncle uses his influence properly, soon you will be looking to me as king."

While neither one was paying attention, Felix had managed to place his hand on the princess's lower waist in a very inappropriate manner. Once both did notice, Marinette had backed away from Felix so that he couldn't reach her. Adrien, however, had very tightly grabbed Felix's thumb on the hand that touched Marinette and held it very angrily as he said in a seething tone, "You touch her that way again, and I will break more than your hands."

As Adrien held Felix tightly, Marinette noticed that his ring emanating a sort of black energy. It only went away when she gently put a hand on his shoulder which caused him to relax. Once he released Felix's hand, the delinquent fled away from the crowd in pain, for once not causing a scene this time. Eventually the two returned to dancing to pretend like what had happened didn't actually occur. As they danced, Marinette broke their little silence with a question, "What was that black energy from your hand?"

"I don't know," Adrien answered, "But whatever it was, it seemed to have Plagg concerned."

"Nice to hear that Tikki isn't the only one that can get inside the heads of chosens," Marinette let out a small sigh, "So why was Plagg worried?"

"He told me that angry chosens with the power of destruction is never a good sign," Adrien explained, "Guess you got lucky getting Tikki."

The two continued dancing until the king gathered the attention of the audience once more. This time, Marinette didn't even bother to listen to the speech. Mostly because she was keeping her eye out in case Felix tried anything again. However her attention was brought back to the current situation once she noticed nobles beginning to approach them. And suddenly, Marinette's heart began racing with complete fear.

Because she was officially of age now. Which means that she is now old enough to marry. And now the male nobles are readying to offer their hands in marriage. This began each young man's approach to woo the princess. Meanwhile, one thought repeats in Marinette's head, Why did this have to happen now?

This part of the celebration felt endless for both Marinette, and Adrien. In truth, as soon as Adrien heard news that this would be happening, he sent word to his father in regards to proposing to the princess himself. Proving to the world once and for all that his flirtatious compliments to the princess weren't simply just bluster. However, instead of receiving approval from his father like he expected, the only response he got was that the knight had to be patient as there was a plan in motion. He was unclear as to what the plan was, and at the moment he didn't really care. Until he noticed one thing that set his teeth on edge.

Felix was approaching the princess with the late Lady Emilie Agreste's sapphire necklace. He was preparing to ask for Marinette's hand in marriage with Lord Gabriel's permission.


End file.
